Using Membership Categorization Analysis to Reveal Implementers' Worldview

• In Event: 14.043 - Research on Evaluation SIG Paper Presentations

Abstract

Fidelity of implementation is defined as the extent to which the original program has been implemented as designed. Traditionally, this focuses on dosage, quality, and responsiveness. This study questions the effectiveness of traditional methods in evaluating implementation of holistic programs that attempt to effect change in a person's worldview. The study presents Membership Categorization Analysis (MCA) as a method uniquely able to address this aspect. Harvey Sacks developed MCA as an ethnomethodological method to understanding the way people use words to construct the world around them by unpacking the categories and connections between categories people routinely use. This study demonstrates the value of this method in the context of an evaluation of an implementation of an early childhood education curriculum.

Author

• Justin Paulsen, Indiana University - Bloomington